Image source, Getty Images

Big poker faces in the four out front. Dylan van Baarle has dropped to the back of the bunch. There's a bit of posturing here. Nobody wants to go first.

Maxime Bouet is the first to show but he's gone way too early, 350m out from the line. Manuele Mori has a little chuckle to himself as he gets in his wheel.

Van Baarle and Yohann Gene are not getting involved.

Mori duly comes round to take the 20 points. Here come the big boys...

The 2CV has gone. It's been replaced by a Renault 5, with a man sitting on top, swigging out of a can of something nice. Lovely.

Up ahead the break is approaching the intermediate sprint in Chanceaux. Just 1km to go. Will anyone fancy taking this on?

Mark‏, external: I've hit 77km/h down the Ryals, it's much, much slower going up. https://www.strava.com/segments/4630741?filter=overall …, external#bbccycling, external

Ugly Camel‏, external: Geared at 52/12, 753 frame, the car driver told me the speed, we even overtook a pro called Uli Byrile (sp).

John Rochester, external: #bbccycling, external - 80kph descending in the Dolomites for last Sunday's @mdolomites, external - still being overtaken by swarms of crazy Italians...

Thanks for the clarification Ugly Camel! #bbccycling for your best efforts

Ahhhh..the 2CV chasing the peloton. Is there a finer sight on Tour?

Three are are racing alongside the peloton, in a field. The pace of the peloton is 33km/h and I'm pleased to report that the citroens are keeping up!

110km left. Lead remains two minutes, 30 seconds.

Thanks for the proof Simon and glad you kept it for posterity!

#bbccycling with your fastest rides

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Could Arnaud Demare go quicker than the 75km/h he registered in Thursday's sprint finish?

There's a strong chance if the wind blows...

Rob Hayles, who will be on commentary from 14:30 BST on the BBC Sport website only today (the England v South Africa Test match is clogging up Radio 5 live Sports Extra), has been telling me...

"The wind is stronger today and on the flatter open roads could very well cause problems for the peloton towards the finish. t

"The direction of the course however changes in the last few kilometres and if the wind stays the same, we could have a very fast sprint finish."

After Arnaud Demare hit 75km/h on a flat finish after 200+km of racing on stage six, I want to hear from the speed freaks among you...#bbccycling for your best efforts

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Forget the jelly beans. Bananas are the food of champions.

Nairo Quintana won the Giro d'Italia in 2014, the Vuelta a Espana in 2016. Does that mean the 2018 Tour de France is his?

If it hadn't have been for that pesky Froome he'd have had already completed the set.

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There appears to be no sign of the crosswinds so far. The wind is blowing a bit, but not enough to split up the race.

Just in case the wind does get up and blow from an unfavourable direction, behind the Quick-Step Floors, Lotto-Soudal and FDJ trio leading the peloton is the Team Sky train, with Chris Froome in sixth spot.

The Astana team of third-placed rider Fabio Aru are tracking Sky. There is not a lot to gain today if the wind behaves. If not, all could be lost very quickly.

I'm struggling to comprehend Ugly Camel's speed. Are you sure your speedo wasn't broken?

Ugly Camel‏, external: Following the Milk Race in the early 80s, downhill from Pennines to A69, was overtaking cars that were doing 70mph. I was 16.

Rob Hatley, external: 46mph on a knobbly tyred MTB on the descent into Brighton at 6am with my 5 yr old on the trailer bike shouting "FASTER!!"

Matt‏, external:Not as fast as some but managed 50km/h on a mountain bike with a broken brake lever. I still don't know how I stopped.

#bbccycling with your best efforts.

Dylan van Baarle is on the front of the breakaway. Head down, legs pumping. You may recall the name. The Dutchman was just 22 when he won the 2014 Tour of Britain.

Now 25, he is riding in his third Tour de France.

The lead is back to two minutes, 30 seconds. Around 25km to the intermediate sprint.

I love this idea. Not many cobbles in this year's race for the Tour de France riders but Le Petit Tour's peloton has it a little tougher.

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Olivier le Gac has been doing most of the work on the front of the peloton. The FDJ rider is puling the peloton along for his team-mate Arnaud Demare.

His effort becomes all the greater once you learn that he's been on the verge of abandoning the race for the last five days.

"I haven't fully recovered yet but I'm getting better and better”, the Breton rider told letour.com before setting of this morning. “I hope to get back to normal and be able to do my job for Arnaud.”

Image source, Reuters

Chris Bonney has set the bar high here. #bbcycling for your best efforts. Pictures welcome.

OJ Borg and Rob Hayles have had their daily chat to preview stage seven. Follow the link and watch. Always entertaining.

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Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on Radio 5 live sports extra

Team Sky are getting a much easier ride because the sprinters' teams are doing the work.

There will be two teams less likely to get involved, they are Dimension Data and Bora because they have lost their two big riders in Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan.

Fortunately for Team Sky, there are still a handful of teams willing to keep the break in check, which in turn, is giving Chris Froome and Sky a slightly easier ride.

Image source, Philippa York

Britain's Robert Millar, who won the King of the Mountains classification at the 1984 Tour de France, on the way to finishing fourth, is now Philippa York after completing a transition to become a woman. She will be appearing on ITV 4's commentary for a few days next week.

In honour of the fast men on the bike and Arnaud Demare's incredible 75km/h...on the flat...after riding 200+km, I want to hear tales, and see pictures of your fastest rides.

What's the quickest you've ever gone? Has anyone matched Demare? Were you going downhill, with a following wind at the time?

#bbccycling with your best efforts. Ready. Steady. Go...

Simon Brotherton and Rob Hayles will be on air from 14:30 BST with live commentary of the closing stages of stage seven.

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Image source, Getty Images

The breakaway has stepped off the gas a little bit and their lead has been chopped to just over two minutes.

The peloton won't want to make the catch for a good 140km at the earliest so they too will have to be wary and adjust their pace accordingly.

Bit of cat and mouse could follow. If the break can get away with riding a bit slower and conserving some energy, they might have a bit more in the tank when the peloton really does start giving chase.